What I Carry

A Curricular Reflection

Abstract

This autobiographical Currere reflection explores how personal experience and curriculum theory come together in the shaping of a teacher’s identity. The essay begins with a story about carrying my son’s drumline backpack during a state competition, which becomes a metaphor for the unseen weight educators often carry into their classrooms. Using Pinar’s Currere framework, I move through memories of my past teaching, imagine the kind of teacher I hope to become, and reflect on moments that challenged my understanding of care, authority, and voice. These moments include rethinking my approach to student identity, institutional expectations, and the role of artificial intelligence in the writing classroom. Drawing on the work of curriculum scholars such as Greene, Noddings, Valenzuela, Dewey, Freire, and Eisner, the reflection considers teaching as a lived and relational practice. Ultimately, this piece suggests that curriculum is not just something we plan or deliver, but something we carry, reflect on, and reshape as we continue becoming who we are as educators.